Clearly exhausted from last night’s Boxing match officials and Boxers were attending a Duma Nogaga’s Amandla Boxing tournament in OR Tambo Sports complex. The tournament marked the end of women’s month and had an exciting ladies boxing amidst the eight explosive bouts that were showcased on the day. 3 of the eight fights went inside the distance while another three of them were perfectly matched encounters. The OR Tambo has a history of hosting tournaments like this but nowadays it is mainly used for municipality events, churches and political rallies. Clearly the Western Cape government does not have a drive to support the sports in the city. That does not only show in the underused Cape Town stadium but also includes this sports complex.
Angolan triumphs over another South African
Myolisi Xayo stuck to his game plan of making Christiano NdoMbassy miss with his right hand until he got knocked out in round 4. When the hard hitting South African assassin paced Xayo and landed his right hand it was all over. Xayo made a mistake of being comfortable against the giant and became careless by dropping his defence. The fight ended by a knockout in round four and Christiano had not broken any sweat as yet. The difference in Both Boxers’ physics was not reflecting the true weight division as the Angolan appeared bigger and was bullying Xayo across the ring.
This fight raised a lot of questions about the Xayo camp, such as what was there to gain when they faced Christiano. Xayo has recently entered the top 10 South African Jr Middleweight rankings and this was too risky to fight a novice that is well known for ending Boxers’ careers. I am sure that a knockout loss to Christiano will cost Xayo his spot in the top 10 of the South African ratings. Myolisi xayo’s record now stands at 5 fights, 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. Meanwhile Christiano NdoMbassy has got 3 fights 3 wins with no defeat.
If there is anything to take away from this fight it is that one does not have to prove anything against lower ranked Boxers unless there is a title at stake.
Ladies match
A 4 rounds Lightweight match between Rushda Mallick and Zizipho Lituka had Boxing fans standing and cheering for the rest of the fight. Zizipho was fighting his second fight infront of her Mother, Brother and child and was climbing the Mount Everest in Rushda. One could see the see that Rushda had a much more coordinated body movements due to her Kick Boxing background. The only thing that lacked in her game was that she could not pressure Zizipho by hitting more shots. She waited for Zizipho to dictate the pace of the fight and even when Zizipho showed tiredness she could not capitalise on that. At the end of the day all the judges surprisingly gave the fight to Zizipho and she now stands at 1-1 in her only 2 fights. On the other hand the less experienced Mallick lost her debut fight but promises to have a lot to offer for future. Their bout was also an affirmation that Women’s Boxing is slowly getting competitive in the country.
The Knockouts
The evening also had 2 other knockouts on the day which lasted a few seconds within the first rounds. The fans were left if both shock and disappointment when Thapelo Ndintili was knocked out by Msindisi Sompondo with less than five punches on the first round. First was a knockdown and followed a barrage of unanswered punches which led to the referee stopping the contest. Thapelo Ntintili has fought 6 fights and has lost them against novices on knockouts and this one was also not to be an exception.
The other knockout also came in the first round with Anathi Hela W Ko 1 Sabelo Ngembiyana.
The fight of the tournament
The Bantamweight’s division’s four rounds match was filled with fireworks and skill. Sakhumzi Ngqakatha was dressed in the Mike Tyson’s all Black trunk with no trimmings while Mbananga was dressed in White trunks with red trimmings. Sakhumzi Ngqakatha lost a 4 rounds decision to Themba Mbananga. Both Boxers had graduated from the amateur ranks this new financial year but they displayed skills that most seasoned professionals cannot display. The fight could have gone either way if it was not for Mbananga’s precision and hard punched that sent Ngqakatha to the canvas in round 2. There is a huge possibility that these Boxers might face Ndema, Ngambinja, and Bam in the distant future but billing them with them at this moment might be suicidal. These two guys need to be groomed properly and not be rushed to bigger things.
Other results: Lazola Jikazana W4 vuyani Kosi, Sparks Van Wyk W4 Gerson Singo, and Sinethemba Maseti W4 Nkweteni Tini.
